Water Conservation
PC Water Conservation Measures
Resident Halls water conservation devices
In the summer of 2009 PC replaced faucets aerators and shower heads with low flow water devices.
Faucets aerator
PC replaced 994 faucet aerators in the resident halls with low flow aerators. The average flow of these original aerators was 2.2 gallons per minute. Of these new aerators, 696 have a flow rate of 0.5 gpm, saving 77% of the water from these faucets. 248 of the aerators are 1.5 gpm (kitchen faucets need a higher flow rate) still saving 33% of the water.
Shower Heads
643 showerheads were changed out to low flow devices. The old showerheads had inconsistent flow rates, but were usually around 2.25 gpm. The new showerheads have a flow rate of 1.5 gpm, saving 33% water. The new showerheads also have a better performance so they are likely to shorten shower times, saving both water and energy.
Non-Resident Hall buildings
In addition, in the spring of 2010, we replaced 247 aerators in the administrative buildings (with the exception of the science buildings). We also changed out the spray vales in the Alumni and Raymond cafeterias. The summer of 2010 will complete our water conservation efforts with the installation of low-flow aerators and shower heads in the athletics facilities.
Education and outreach
Every year, with assistance of the Hall Director, our office reaches out to returning and incoming students, educating and engaging them about water resources and the need to conserve whenever possible, simple choices do make an impact!
You can help!
- Take shorter showers
- Turn off water when brushing teeth
- Remember to report all leaks
PC Rainwater Harvest Project
See the overhead view of PC’s Rainwater Harvest Project, with different colors for each phase of implementation.
Rainwater Collection System
The Rainwater harvesting project is in the second phase of a two phases project that proposes to harvest roof rainwater to supplement process water is the college’s power plant. This rainwater will be recycled and used as process water for heating and cooling of the campus buildings.
Phase 1 – Completed
- Roof Rainwater drain connections– Roof drains from the Fitness Center, Peterson Recreation Center, McVinney Hall, Slavin Center and the Power Plant roofs.
Phase 2 – Under Design
- Proposed to install (2) 100,000 underground tanks located between Schneider Arena and the Tennis Courts. Theses tanks will collect and store the rainwater, which will then be pumped to the Power Plant for process water.
Additional Rainwater Harvesting
Grey Water Project – under design
- Collection of Raymond Hall roof rainwater for toilets flushing – Propose to install an underground storage tank in the Raymond Hall parking lot to collect roof rainwater. Currently internal piping to individual water closets and roof drain work is complete. Tank installation is pending funding.
Get a handle on campus water use…
The College’s average daily water make-up to operate the boilers for heating and hot water is 4,000 g/day.
Daily water use for air condition campus buildings:
- Average summer demand is 58,000 gallons/ day
- Max demand in August is 75,000 gallons/day
- Off-peak demand 10,400 gallons/day – Winter months
Example of rainwater yield – One inch of rain from the Peterson recreation center will yields 45,500 gallons of water.
